Tim Hardaway scored 14 of his 23 points in the first quarter as
the Miami Heat raced to a 20-point lead after just nine minutes
and never trailed, holding off the New Jersey Nets, 105-97.

Miami, which won for the sixth time in seven games, avenged an
earlier loss to New Jersey and leads the third-place Nets by 2
1/2 games in the Atlantic Division.

The Heat, which held an opponent under 100 points for the sixth
consecutive game, improved to 10-2 at home. On Tuesday, they
play at Atlanta to begin a stretch of 15 of 20 games on the
road.

"It was a hotly contested game," said Heat coach Pat Riley. "It
was good to win against New Jersey, they are very difficult to
defend. They crept back in the game with layups and shots and
they made a lot of plays in the second half."

Sam Cassell had 19 points and Kendall Gill added 17 for the
Nets, who lost for the third time in four games. Rookie Keith
Van Horn, playing in just his second game, scored 16.

"We got off to a bad start and spent too much time trying to get
back," Van Horn said. "It worked well and it would have been
nice not to have to press. We didn't have the energy to sustain
(it). I'm trying to get back in game shape, I haven't played
5-on-5 for six weeks. The adjustment from college hasn't been
too difficult for me."

Miami led by just four, 70-66, late in the third quarter but
took command with a 9-0 run over a two-minute span. Voshon
Lenard started the spurt with a layup and Hardaway followed with
a short jump shot. After another jumper by Eric Murdock, Terry
Mills capped the outburst with a three-pointer that provided a
79-66 advantage.

"This is a good win for us considering we are about to go on the
road," said Lenard. "They made a nice run in the second and
third quarter, but we kept the peddle down."

After scoring just 17 points in the first quarter, New Jersey
rallied to come within three, 65-62, with 4:42 to play in the
second quarter. It was the closest they would come in the game,
however, as the Heat took a 53-48 lead at the intermission.

Miami's biggest lead of the game came with 5:28 to play in the
fourth quarter, 93-76, on a three-pointer by Dan Majerle. The
Heat would not score another field goal again in the game,
instead hitting 15-of-17 from the foul line down the stretch.
They finished 22-of-27 (81 percent) from the line.

The Heat, who outrebounded New Jersey, 46-37, shot 46 percent
(37-of-81) from the field but committed 25 turnovers to allow
the Nets to remain close. Isaac Austin, who continues to play
well in place of the injured Alonzo Mourning, pulled down 13
rebounds, six of which were offensive.

"Their energy, aggressiveness and mental toughness was higher
than ours," said Nets coach John Calipari. "This is a learning
curve, we've got talented players but we're not where they are.
I'll talk about Miami till they want to choke me. They're who
we have to shoot for. It's taken three years for them to get
where they are. We're not there yet but we're getting better."

Jayson Williams, who entered the night second in the NBA in
rebounding at 13.2 per game, pulled down 11 for New Jersey. The
Nets were dominated in second chance points with Miami holding a
22-10 advantage.

"Pat Riley had them ready," said Williams. "They were all over
us. We couldn't get over the hump. According to Cal (Calipari),
they were tougher than us. We need to regroup and come back
again against Washington (on Tuesday night)."

New Jersey was held under 100 points for the fourth time in five
games.